u/Cold_Discussion_7292

if i dont wanna do my first pick anymore and want my second pick can i ask them to swtich it before the school year starts? or is it too late lol

I’m heading into 2nd year, and seeing a few of you spiral is reminding me of myself and so I thought I’d offer my 2 cents as someone who's reflecting on their first year. The biggest threat to your career isn't a rejection letter or a year spent upgrading, it's the belief that your life is over if it takes a longer time to graduate or even find a job. I got into engineering with a 95 average and got completely humbled this year. But it wasn’t the course load that was affecting me (which is a lot more intense than hs), it was the crippling fear of failure

When you've tied your entire identity/worth to success, grades, or your career, one little mistake ends up feeling like a knife in your gut lol. That mindset will start with a quiz, then a final, then not getting into uni, then your career, and eventually you're consumed with this virus and you realize it's impacted every single aspect of your life. Last year I told myself that all I had to do was get into uni, and eventually the stress would die down, but oh boy was I wrong

When you get into uni, certain exams will have passing requirements and so every time around finals I'd end up being paralyzed mentally because of the possibility of failing a class and having to extend my degree. The stress became too much and eventually it started showing physically. I was malnourished, had persistent migraines, lacked sleep, was in and out of the doctor's office until I realized that I had burnt out my nervous system.

The truth is, “thugging it out” and thinking it'll all get better if you accomplish that one thing like getting into uni doesn't work because it doesn't get better. It only gets worse. I realize now that at the end of the day school is just school. In the grand scheme of a 40-year career, an extra year or two (or even more) is literally nothing. Whether you graduate at 22 or 26 you will still graduate with an engineering degree. But if you enter uni with that same mindset, the pressure will break you before you can even get your iron ring

If you're upgrading right now, use this time to get rid of that cancerous mindset. Learn how to embrace failure and get back up. Learn that your worth isn't tied to your degree, your grades, or your career. It is 10x harder to fix your health than it is to fix your grades and because of this I’m even considering extending my degree by a year to lower my course load. In short, don't let this fear harm you, it isn't worth it I promise.